Quick and Easy Tomato Basil Soup

I got and tried this delicious recipe from a book I have called, "Healthy Sin Food." I recommend it because it is a super positive health book, unlike some "health" books that like to shame you to bits for a couple of bad habits. Well pshaw I say - what's this one glass of wine once a week crap for instance? I'd like to know what these extreme health experts look like...they're probably cold all the time and do a lot of frowning and worrying. Well, not me. Back to the book. We all need a couple of sinful habits and well, the title and the recipes in this book grabbed me. Enjoy!

1 tbsp. of butter, 1/2 cup of onion, 1/2 cup of diced celery, 1 tbsp. flour, 2 cups of low sodium broth, 2 cans of 28 ounce/796 ml crushed tomatoes, 2 tbsp. of chopped fresh basil, 1/2 tsp. of salt, 1/2 tsp. of pepper.

Melt butter in a nonstick skillet over medium high heat and saute onion and celery until tender (3ish minutes). Add flour and stir for about another minute then slowly pour chicken broth and whisk until blended. Add the crushed tomatoes another pot and add basil and salt and pepper, as well as the chicken broth mixture. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for about 20 minutes.

Allow to cool and puree in a blender to create a smooth texture (or commit soup sin and don't blend it). Reheat and serve.

Top with you like with sour cream and chives or creme fraiche (which is even more delightful) and chives.